Focusing Ourselves on Jesus for Jesus’s Sake

PRAYER OF CONSECRATION

Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. 

Jesus, I belong to you.

I lift up my heart to you.
I set my mind on you.
I fix my eyes on you.
I offer my body as a holy and living sacrifice to you. 

Jesus, We belong to you. 

Praying in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen. 

Philippians 3:7–11 (NIV)

But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

CONSIDER THIS

It’s Monday again, so let’s be reminded of where we’ve been, and where we are headed. We are in a massive ascent of revelation. The season is called Epiphany in our Awakening Calendar. Advent led us down a descent into the valley of the manger and the feast of Christmas. We are walking with Jesus now from the lowly manger to the mountain of transfiguration. We have traversed across his childhood to his baptism to the wedding at Cana to the synagogue in Nazareth with the stunning messianic declaration. We’ve been to Capernaum and the entire town showing up at Peter’s door for healing and deliverance. We’ve seen Jesus serve as fishing guide to commercial fishermen. He touched the man covered with leprosy, healed the paralyzed man inside and out, and we still have miles to go before we sleep.

Though this is an annual pilgrimage we are making up this mountain, every single year is a once in a lifetime journey. That’s how it is with Jesus. There is always more to see of the nuanced, divine glory coming from his ordinary humanity. There is always more to hear not only from his voice but his tone; not only his words but his ways; not only his line of sight but his way of seeing. In this particular journey we aren’t asking, “How does this apply to my life?” Rather we want to know how does Jesus apply his life? What is the nature of his authority? Who is he drawn to? Who is he repelled by? Whom does he call and who calls on him?

Many of us get caught in the traps of functional religion; ever asking questions like, “What can Jesus do for me? What does Jesus want from me? How can Jesus change my circumstances? All of these questions have the effect of keeping the focus on me, myself, and I. There is only one way to get our eyes off of ourselves, and it is not by trying to get our eyes off of ourselves. That only makes it worse.

But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.

The only way to get our focus off of ourselves is to focus ourselves on Jesus, with no thought for ourselves. It is to lift our heart to him, to set our minds on him, to fix our eyes on him, to offer our bodies as a holy and living sacrifice to him. It takes a minute to get here, but this way is so utterly freeing. We are learning to fix our awareness, attention, attunement, attachment, affection, and abiding on and in Jesus. And we are learning to do it not for our own sake but for his sake. We are not doing this in order for Jesus to do something for us. No, we are about this so we can behold who he might become in us and us in him. Jesus is the only one who can lead us to find our true self and identity and to live our real life and vocation—in this world—on earth as it is in heaven. This is the true freedom. Everything else is slavery. 

I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

We are learning to focus on Jesus for Jesus’ sake. 

THE PRAYER

Our Father, open the eyes of my heart to behold your Son, Jesus, and to behold him in and through the revelation of his life. Holy Spirit, lead me out of my self-oriented ways and into the massive, sweeping movements of Jesus’s life, descending and ascending, contemplating on the peaks and celebrating in the valleys. Lead me in this way until his life is my vision and my life is his vision in and for this world. Praying in Jesus’s name, amen. 

THE QUESTION

How is Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God, coming into focus for you? How would you say what I am trying to say in today’s entry? 

THE HYMN

Today we shall sing another Bill Gaither classic and beloved chorus, “There’s Just Something About that Name.” I am pleased to report it is hymn 134 in our Seedbed hymnal, Our Great Redeemer’s Praise.

For the Awakening,
J. D. Walt

Subscribe to get this in your inbox daily and please share this link with friends.